Jane Mallory Birkin (December 14, 1946 - July 16, 2023) was an English-French actress and singer whose career moved between British cinema, French popular culture, chanson and international fashion. Born in London, she was the daughter of actress Judy Campbell and Royal Navy officer David Birkin. She began performing as a teenager and appeared in the 1965 stage musical Passion Flower Hotel, whose score was written by John Barry. She married Barry that year, and the couple later had a daughter, photographer Kate Barry.
Birkin's early screen work included a small role in Richard Lester's The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965), followed by appearances in Kaleidoscope (1966) and Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966). Her performance in Blowup, including a brief nude scene, brought her wider attention. She then appeared in the psychedelic film Wonderwall (1968), playing a character named Penny Lane, and in the French thriller La Piscine (1969), alongside Alain Delon and Romy Schneider.
Her defining professional and personal collaboration began when she met Serge Gainsbourg during the making of the film Slogan (1969). Gainsbourg wrote and recorded with her the provocative single Je t'aime... moi non plus, released in 1969. The record became an international success despite bans and controversy, and its breathy vocal performance established Birkin as a distinctive presence in French pop. The same year, they released the album Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg. Their partnership continued for more than a decade, and Gainsbourg wrote much of the material for Birkin's early solo albums, including Di doo dah (1973), Lolita Go Home (1975) and Ex fan des sixties (1978).
Birkin also developed a substantial acting career in France. She appeared in popular comedies as well as more ambitious films by directors such as Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais and Agnes Varda. Her notable credits included Death on the Nile (1978), Evil Under the Sun (1982), Rivette's La Belle Noiseuse (1991), and Resnais' On connait la chanson (1997). Varda made her the subject of the inventive portrait film Jane B. par Agnes V. (1988) and cast her in Kung-Fu Master! (1988). Birkin also directed and wrote Boxes (2007), a film inspired by family memories.
After separating from Gainsbourg in 1980, Birkin continued to record his songs while establishing an identity of her own. Baby Alone in Babylone (1983), Lost Song (1987), Versions Jane (1996), Fictions (2006), Enfants d'hiver (2008) and Oh! Pardon tu dormais... (2020) showed her development as an interpreter and, increasingly, as a songwriter. Her live performances became an important part of her later career, including the albums Jane Birkin au Bataclan and Arabesque. In 2017, she revisited Gainsbourg's repertoire with full orchestral arrangements on Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le Symphonique.
Birkin's relaxed style also made her a fashion icon. In 1984, a chance meeting with Hermes executive Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight between Paris and London led to the creation of the Birkin bag. She remained active in humanitarian and political causes, supporting immigrant rights, abortion rights and campaigns against the far right. Birkin died in Paris at the age of 76, leaving a legacy that united acting, music, activism and style.